384 Luke commanded The demons beg leave to enter into a herd of swine. SECT. Would not command them to go out into the bot- and] LXX. tomless abyss, the prison in which many of the them to go out into the deep. [MARK fallen spirits are detained, and to which some v. 10.] viii.31 who may, like these, have been permitted for a while to range at large, are sometimes by divine justice and power remanded. (Compare Rev. xx. 1-3; 2 Pet. ii. 4; Jude, ver. 6; and see Grotius, in loc.) Mark Now there was there within their view, at a MARK V. 11. Now v. 11 considerable distance from them, on the mountains good way off from there was there [a near the seashore, a great herd of many swine them,] nigh unto the feeding on the mountain; for, unclean as those mountains, a great 12 13 animals were, the Jews in that country bred up feeding 8 Which they sold to the Roman soldiers, and other Gentiles, &c.] The laws of Hyrcanus had indeed prohibited the Jews from keeping swine (which shews it had been much practised among them ;) but these. Gadarenes who had so many Gentiles in the neighbourhood, having long been under Heathen government (Joseph. Antiq. Fud. lib. xv. cap. 7 (al. 11.) $3; & Bell Jud, lib, i. cap. 20 (al. 15,) § 3,) and living in the extreme part of the country, presumed to do it, scandalous and illegal as the employment was, See Miracles of Jesus vindicated, p. 34, 35. i. To prove the reality of a diabolical agency in these cases.] The cavils against this miracle are equally malicious and weak, enter into them. 13 And forth with Our Lord's permitting the evil spirits to enter into the swine was not properly sending them into those beasts; or if he had done it, the punishment to the owners would have been just; or had it been less apparently so, his extraordinary character as a prophet, and the proof he gave of a Divine cooperation, would have set him above our censure in an action, the full reasons of which we might not perfectly have known. But though this solution is to me very satisfactory, it is not necessary to have recourse to it for this action evidently appears both wise and gracious; inasmuch as it unanswerably demonstrated at once the malice of Satan and the extent of Christ's power over him. No miracles are more suspiciousthan pretended Christ gives them leave, and the whole herd is driven into the sea. 385 to them, Go.] And play the malice of those evil spirits: he there- SECT. the unclean spirits fore said unto them, You may go, since you de- LXX. went out [LUKE, of the man, J and enter- sire it, and operate on those creatures as you ed into the [herd of] please. And upon this the unclean spirits went v. 13 swine: and behold, directly out of the man whom they had possessthe [whole ]herd ran violently down a ed, and entered into the herd of swine: and such steep place into the was the strange effect of their power, that, besea, and were chok- hold the whole herd immediately grew mad, and ed in the sea, [and perished in the wa- ran violently down a precipice into the sea, and ters: Jand they were were all suffocated in the sea, and perished in the about two thousand, waters;k being in number about two thousand. [MAT. VIII. 32. And the swine herds seeing what was done, fled 14 LUKE VIII. 33.] iThe whole herd ran violently down a precipice into the sea.] This story is an unanswerable demonstration of the error of the hypothesis advanced by the author of the late Inquiry into the Case of the demoniacs, &c. (mentioned before in note on Luke iv. 33, p. 199.) That ingenious writer is forced to suppose these swine frighted by the two madmen, and so driven down the precipice: but, not to mention the absurdity of supposing their lunacy thus to rage after Christ had spoken the healing word, one might venture to appeal to any body that has observed what awkward creatures swine are to drive, whether it would be possible, without a miracle, for two men to drive twenty, and much less two thou ble thing to see a writer of such a character reduced to so hard a shift. He seems indeed to think the common notion of possessions absurd and dangerous, and certainly opposes it with a very good design: but it is hard to say how Christ could have encouraged that notion more than by his conduct on this occasion; and I doubt not but this extraordinary occurrence was permitted chiefly to prove the reality of these possessions, and will always be effectual for the conviction of every impartial inquirer. And were all suffocated, and perished in the waters.] The display of the malignity of these demons, in this instance, served to illustrate the value of every miracle of this kind, and to display the grace as well as power of Christ in every dispossession; in which view this circumstance appears to have been determined with great wisdom and goodness, though folly and perverseness have so strangely disguised it. $86 Mark The Gadarenes pray Jesus to depart from thence. [out of whom the devils SECT. as being restored to his right mind, they were devil, and had the LXX. struck with such a mixture of astonishment and Legion, reverence, that they were afraid of conversing were departed,] sitv. 15 with so great a Prophet, and dreaded the ting [at the feet of farther effects of his power. (Compare Luke v. Jesus,] and clothed, 16 8. sect. xxxiv.) And they also who were pres- and they were afraid. and in his right mind; ent, and had seen all that passed from the be- [LUKE VIII-35.] ginning, gave them a particular account of 16 And they [al[it,] and told them, more largely than the swine so that saw it, told them [by what herds had done, by what means the demoniac means he that was had been recovered; and also told them concern- possessed of the ing the swine, how they had been so strangely devils was healed.] destroyed by the apparent agency of those and also concerning the swine. [LUKE evil spirits by which the men had before been VIII. 36.] possessed. Mat. MAT. VIII. 34. And behold, the that he would de And behold, all the inhabitants of the whole whole city came out viii.34 city of Gadara,' as the rumour increased, come to meet Jesus out to meet Jesus; [and] indeed the whole mul- [LUKE, and the titude of the country of the Gadarenes round whole multitude of about focked to see so wonderful a person: Gadarenes round athe country of the and when they saw him, they presently began, bout;] and when with all submission, to entreat him that he they saw him, they would please to depart from them out of their began to pray him] coasts; pretending that they, who had so great part [LUKE, from a number of Gentiles round them, were not them] out of their fit to receive so great and holy a person: for coast; [LUKE, for they were taken they unreasonably looked on him as the author with great fear: and of the calamity which befel the swine, and he went up into the were seized with great fear, lest he should send ship, and returned some farther judgments upon them, which v. 17. LUKE VIII. back again.][MARK they were sensible the great irregularities of 37.1 their behaviour well deserved: " and he, by no means willing to obtrude his presence on those Mark who were so insensible as not to desire it, MARK V. 18. possessed with the And when he was come into the ship, the de- he that had been v. 18 moniac, out of whom the demons were now depart- devil, [out of whom ed, fearing lest after this (as it had been supposed the devils were de 1 The whole city of Gadara.] Josephus judgments upon them, &c.] Some have describes it as a very considerable place. It was by the righteous judgment of God, the first Jewish city that fell into the hands of the Romans in the fatal war under Vespasian, and suffered great extremities. Joseph. Bell. Jud. lib. iv. cap. 7. (al. v. 3.) $ 3, 4. See Wits. de Decem. Trib. cap. 8. $2. in Lest he should send some farther imagined, that they thought Christ a magician, and feared the effects of his art; but the cause assigned in the paraphrase seems to me much more decent, and, all things considered, more likely. They were probably a licentious sort of people, and might naturally, from what they saw, fear some farther chastisement from so holy a Prophet. with him. 387 Mark v. 18 The demoniac desires to go with them, but is sent home. parted,] prayed him of some, Mat. xii. 43-45, sect. lxiii,) he might SECT. that he might be be in danger of à relapse, and, dreading the LXX. [LUKE terrors of his former condition entreated him VIII. 38.-] that he might be allowed to continue with him, 19 Howbeit, Jesus to enjoy the farther benefit of his instructions. suffered him not, but Yet Jesus did not permit him to do it, but sent 19 [sent him away, say him away, saying, Return to thine own house, ing, Return to thine [and] go to thy friends and relations at home; own house, and] go home to thy friends, and fail not particularly to tell them how great and tell them how things the Lord God of Israel, whose messenger great thingsthe Lord I am, has by his Almighty power 'performed [God] hath done for thee, and hath had for thee; and how graciously he has had comcompassion on thee. passion on thee in those deplorable circum[LUKE VIII. —38, stances which rendered thee a spectacle of 39.-] horror to them, and all that saw thee. And 20 20 And he departed, and began to upon this he went away, and began to publish publish [throughout through the whole city of Gadara, in which he the whole city, and] dwelt, [and] in all the neighbouring region of in Decapolis, how great things Jesus Decapolis, what great and wonderful things had done for him; Jesus had done for him: and all men were and all men did mar- amazed at so stupendous a miracle. 39.] ix. 1 vel. [LUKE VIII And Jesus, having entered into the ship, de- Mat MAT. IX. 1. And parted thence as soon as the demoniac was he entered into a dismissed; and, leaving those ungrateful peoship, and passed ple who had no greater value for his presence, he passed over the sea of Galilee, and shortly MARK V.21. And after came to his own city of Capernaum, where [it came to pass, he had dwelt after his leaving Nazareth. (See that] when Jesus Mat. iv. 13, p. 190.) over, and came into his own city. was passed over a gain by ship unto And it came to pass that when Jesus had pass- Mark the other side, much ed over again in the ship to the other side of the v. 21 people gathered unlake, he was no sooner landed but a great multo him; [and the people gladly receiv. titude gathered to him; [and] the people most ed him; for they gladly received him, for they expected his were all waiting for speedy return, and were all impatiently waiting nigh unto the sea, for him: and he continued some time on the [LUKE VIII. 40.] seacoast, teaching and working miracles. him and he was IMPROVEMENT. FROM the remarkable story which is here before us we must Mark surely see the most apparent reason to adore the good provi- v.3,18 dence of God, which restrains the malignant spirits of hell from spreading those desolations among beasts and men, which would otherwise quickly turn the earth into a wilderness, or rather into a chaos. But what matter of joy is it to reflect, that all their Gladly received him.] · This Grotius has (ardalo,) and in this sense it may likeobserved to be the meaning of the word wise be understood, Acts xv.4, and xvii.27. 388 Reflections on the power of Christ over Satan. SECT. fury and rage is under a Divine control, and that they cannot LXX. hurt even the meanest animal without permission from above! 12 The unhappy creature, whose state is here described in such Verse lively colours, is an affecting emblem of those who are in a spiritual sense under the power of Satan. Thus do they break 4,5 asunder the bonds of reason and gratitude, and sometimes of authority, and even of shame; and, thus driven on by the frenzy of their lusts and passions, they are so outrageous as to injure "others, and to wound themselves. Human attempts to moderate 15 and reform them may be vain; but let us remember that the Almighty Saviour has a voice which can put this worst kind of demons to flight, and restore those that have been agitated by them to their right mind, so as to place them at his feet in holy composure, and in calm rational attention. 17 7 We see here a legion of devils trembling before the Son of God, confessing his superior power, howling as it were in their chains, and entreating the delay of their torments. And can human pride stand before him, and rebellious mortals triumph over him? Happy souls that are listed under his banners! They shall share the victories of the great Captain of their salvation, and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under their feet shortly. (Rom. xvi. 20.) But oh, how stupid and how wretched were these Gadarenes, who preferred their swine to their souls, and besought him to depart out of their coasts whose presence was their defence and their glory! May Divine grace preserve us from a temper like theirs! And may those of us who have ourselves experienced the restoring power of Christ and his gospel, be engaged to ad18,20 here to our great Benefactor, and gratefully to devote those powers to his service which he has rescued from dishonour, mischief, and ruin! SECT. SECT. LXXI. Christ, being entertained at Matthew's house, justifies his conversing with publicans and sinners; and vindicates his disciples for not keeping so many fasts as the Pharisees and the disciples of John did. Mat. IX. 10-17. Mark II. 15-22. Luke V. 29, to the end. N LUKE V. 29. LUKE V. 29. OW, after Jesus had continued for A him a great a while on the seashore (as was observed, Mark v. 21,) he entered into CaLuke pernaum: and Matthew, or Levi, who dwelt there, and who had some time since been I called from his former office of a publican, V. 29 |